MILLSTADT, Ill. — O’Reilly POWRi Midget Series officials announced a 31-race schedule, the largest in the series’ four-year history as the Illinois midget organization continues to see intense growth.
The series’s point-paying schedule opens in April at Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., and closes in October at the series anchor Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., the same as it did in 2007. But the middle of the schedule has expanded, leaving drivers and crews with one of the busiest schedules in midget racing. In addition, five tracks will host O’Reilly POWRi National Midget Series races for the first time in 2008.
Among those is Paducah (Ky.) Int’l Raceway, a three-eighths-mile track in northwest Kentucky. The race will be the second held in conjunction with the Midwest Sprint Car Series, an Indiana-based 410 sprint-car association.
Other races held in conjunction with MSCS include June 6 at Morgan County and June 28 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
The schedule:
April 25, Morgan Co. Speedway, Jacksonville, Ill.; April 26, Macon (Ill.) Speedway; May 9, Tri-City Speedway, Granite City, Ill.; May 10, Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt, Ind.; May 16, Valley Speedway, Grain Valley, Mo.; May 17, Lucas Oil Speedway, Wheatland, Mo.; June 6, Morgan Co. Speedway; June 11, I-55 Raceway, Pevely, Mo.; June 13, Tri-City Speedway; June 14, St. Francois Co. Speedway, Farmington, Mo.; June 20, Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway; June 21, Knoxville (Iowa ) Raceway; June 27, Paducah (Ky.) Int’l Raceway; June 28, Tri-State Speedway; July 18, Macon Speedway; July 19, Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, Ill.; July 29-30, Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, Neb.; Aug. 1-2, Belleville Highbanks, Belleville, Kan.; Aug. 6, Belle-Clair Speedway; Aug. 9, Washington (Mo.) Town and County Fair; Aug. 15, Macon Speedway; Aug. 29-30, DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fair;  Sept. 12, Morgan Co. Speedway; Sept. 13, Spoon River Speedway, Canton, Ill; Sept. 27, Macon Speedway; Oct. 3, Tri-City Speedway; Oct. 4, Belle-Clair Speedway.